Boundless/Sin Límites, All at Once’s first radical production 

Banner image by Bruce Silcox.

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In his 1990 essay titled “The Radicality of the Puppet Theatre,” German-born American puppeteer Peter Schumann argues that puppets are uniquely subversive tools. Schumann is the co-founder and director of the Vermont-based radical puppet theater company Bread & Puppet Theater. One central concept of Schumann’s philosophy is accessibility and economical art, making artistic expressions available to the masses so everybody can participate. By disrupting traditional power dynamics it is possible to curate collaboratively, increase inclusivity, give voice to resistance movements, and elevate art to public activism. 

With Minneapolis being a premier national hub for puppet theater rooted in community, progressive performances and public activism, Schumann’s radical accessibility comes full circle. In fact, Minneapolis’s most renowned puppet theater group Heart of the Beast Puppet was heavily inspired by Schumann and the Bread and Puppet Theater (the modern resurgence of puppet theater in the United States is in great part indebted to Schumann’s founding of Bread and Puppet Theater in 1963). 

I chatted with some of the members of a new local collective of visionary puppeteers of color called All at Once on the occasion of their first production titled Boundless/Sin Límites at the Pillsbury House Theatre in South Minneapolis. Sofía Padilla, Oanh Vu, Andrew Young, and Erica Warren combine their individual artistic journeys and diverse cultural roots (Mexican, Vietnamese, Indonesian and Taiwanese, Black and Pacific Islander) to create a time-traveling puppetry performance through shadow, tabletop, and rod puppetry. 

 

All At Once, photos by Bruce Silcox.

 

The idea for Boundless/Sin Límites developed through story circles with BIPOC South Minneapolis residents. The process of the story circles centered on the question, what does it mean to specifically live on the Southside of Minneapolis? One participant put it this way, ‘you can always tell what was happening in the world geopolitically by who was living in the Phillips neighborhood’. The Phillips neighborhood has been indeed one of the most diverse and vibrant communities of Minneapolis, shaped by decades of Native American activism, as well as vibrant Somali, Mexican, Latino and Latine, African American, East African and Southeast Asian communities –a rich, multi-ethnic hub (the Phillips neighborhood became famous globally as birthplace of the American Indian Movement in 1968).

The script of Boundless/Sin Límites was co-written by Andrew Young and Oanh Vu, with Sofía Padilla and Erica Warren as cultural consultants. The production presents a time-traveling puppetry performance where Sol, a young person sheltering from ICE is carried through memory, myth, and the histories of South Minneapolis. In this work, “Sol, a young person sheltering in place from ICE is swept into a time-traveling journey by Coyote, a trickster deity—moving through the layered histories of the Southside while uncovering identity, migration, and connection to community.” Boundless/Sin Límites was conceptualized at the end of 2025, the script and production plan received a grant from Metro Regional Arts Council.

 

All At Once Group Photo by Bruce Silcox.

 

The members of All at Once have been inspired by the work of other local artists and groups including Chamindika Wanduragala (Director of Monkeybear Harmolodic Workshop), Mayday Parade, Barebones Puppets, Puppet Cabaret (presented by In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre), and Full Moon Puppetry at Open Eye Theatre. All at Once members are also active collaborators in some of these groups. 

Pillsbury House Theatre has been championing radical accessibility since its founding in 2009. PH+T receives general operating support from state agencies, foundations, and through various generous individual donors. Audio descriptions and ASL interpretation are available during its events. Pillsbury House and Theatre plays a pivotal role as an arts and economic development hub for South Minneapolis. 

The last days to see Boundless/Sin Límites are June 11, 12, 13 and 14 (Spanish translation available on June 14). An additional show has been added on Monday June 15. See times and more information here. Admission is based on a contribution. Follow All at Once on Instagram @allatoncepuppetcompany◼︎ 

 

All At Once logo designed and printed by Erica Warren.

Boundless/Sin Límites is co-produced by Pillsbury House Theatre and directed by Julie Boada. Puppet Design by Andrew Young and Erica Warren. Additional puppet design and fabrication by Johnathan Boyd, Oanh Vu, Orren Fen and Sofía Padilla. Production assistant by Ashe Jaafaru. Sound and music design by Dameun Strange. Additional music by Xilam Balam, Jay and Joseph Walker. Stage Management by Rachael Christina Rhoades. Technical direction and set design by Claudia Errickson. 

Note: I would like to thank local artists and educators Fletcher Wolfe and Sofía Padilla for inspiring me to learn more on the power and impact of puppetry.

 

 

 

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This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.